Ramblings on three originally Dutch TR7's (a '76 FHC, an 80's DHC and an '81 Sprint powered FHC),
including the work done to them and their (ab)use all over Europe. With some of my other passions thrown in from time to time ...

Thursday, 1 March 2007

Braking 't Kreng (part 2)

Due to 't Kreng being used more or less as a daily driver between 1999 and 2003 not much was done to the car save the minimal off servicing. But since the summer off 2003 it is relieved off the "daily" duties. At that time the car was on Michelin SX-GT tyres, but as these were getting rather old, and thus to hard for my liking, it was time to try something completely different. After not to many thoughts I ordered a set off Yokohama A032R tyres in the rather sticky S(uper)S(oft) compound. These tyres really improved the grip and handling off the car, but they also highlighted the fact that the car could very well do with some beefier brakes up front. Not that the Ford based brakes as provided by S&S Preparations are bad, they are just not enough for the cars potential.

First thoughts were for a conversion using Porsche 928S4 (Brembo) calipers with ø305mm vented BMW discs. As a friend has those on his TR7V8, that seemed the easiest swap, as I wouldn't have to start from scratch. But it turned out that spare parts and pads for these calipers were rather expensive, so I started looking for a similar set up from one off the many brake manufacturers on the market today.

As the car is regularly used on rather dirty country lanes and the odd gravel track, the calipers had to be fully dust sealed. This ruled out Willwood and some other companies. In the end I went for a setup from HiSpec Motorsport which I ordered through Revington TR.

The set consists of HiSpec Monster4 calipers (what's in name ...) and vented discs ø300 x 28 mm with alloy bells. I have to admit that Neil Revington took his time to work out the kit but the end result more than made up for the long wait! They are everything what they should be, impressive stopping power. Interesting detail, the pads used in these calipers are also used on the Aston Martin DB7 range and the TVR Cerbera ...